325 E. 14th St., sells, and farewell to the Crocodile Lounge sidewalk awning

After more than a year on the sales market, 325 E. 14th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue has a new owner. 

In a transaction posted early last month, an LLC connected to The Sabet Group bought the four-story building for $3.3 million, down from its initial $5.5 million ask. 

For generations, a family has owned the building known as The James McCreery House. Daytonian in Manhattan has some history here. 

The retail space has been restaurants going back many years, including Il Faro and, in the 1990s, Manila Garden. And in recent years, the place was home to Crocodile Lounge, which never reopened after the COVID shutdown in March 2020. 

The green awning (it changed color in 2016) remained up, however... providing some hope to its fans (and the free 10-inch pizza served with every drink) would return. 

Last week, workers hauled off the awning... (thanks for the tip, Pinch!)

We never set foot in the place, but we know it had its fans. The free pizza, skee ball, and photo booth seemed to draw a solid happy hour crowd.

Above photo from April 2023 by Steven

Stuffed closes, and the owners promise 'a brand new, never seen before' ice cream concept

Photos by Steven

Stuffed Ice Cream closed on Oct. 27 at 139 First Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street.

The shop arrived in 2017 and spawned a second location in Bensonhurst. 

However, ownership has plans for the space...

In a closure notice for patrons, there's news of a new concept called Surprise Scoop opening next month. It will be "a brand new, never seen before FUN & EXCITING ice cream concept."

A bad sign at the Sunflower East Village on 2nd Street

Last week, we noted that Sunflower East Village had closed for a "restructure" after four-plus months in business at 88 Second Ave. at Fifth Street. 

As the week went on, EVG reader Kevin Frech pointed out that the landlord posted a Notice of Petition of Non-Payment on the cafe.

The legal notice states that the tenant owes nearly $177,000 back rent. Perhaps an agreement can be reached between the two sides, but that is a lot of avocado toast. 

This sister cafe to the one on Third Avenue in Gramercy Park opened in May with a brunch-friendly menu, though they were not open in the evenings. 

Sunflower is owned and operated by the same folks as the previous tenant here, Eros, the Greek restaurant that quietly closed in August 2022. Eros took over for their diner concept, The Kitchen Sink, in September 2021.

Bad Hombre remains closed on 2nd Avenue

Bad Hombre remains closed at 29 Second Ave. between First Street and Second Street. 

The restaurant, described as "coastal Mexican-inspired," announced closing for "maintenance" starting Oct. 1...

 

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A post shared by BAD HOMBRE | Mexican Inspired Restaurant (@badhombrenyc)

A few readers have asked about its status. (There is any temp closing notice on the front door.) We haven't seen much activity in the space of late... (the business is still open according to Google, but it was dark when we passed by Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights)...

Bad Hombre opened late last year ... pivoting from Amigo, a collaboration opening in October 2020 between chef Ruben Rodriguez of Nai Tapas at 84 Second Ave. and Juan “Billy” Acosta, whose family runs the much-ballyhooed Carnitas El Momo in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Nai Tapas remains in service, but Kōbo by Nai on Avenue A and Emilia by Nai on First Avenue have closed in the past two years.

Sunday's parting shot

A view inside the New York City Marble Cemetery on Second Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue... (yes, the fallen branches have made a cross...)

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo from Tompkins Square Park by Derek Berg)... 

• Where is the $1 million NYPD mobile command unit that Mayor Adams promised for the troubled 14th Street and 1st Avenue corridor? (Monday) 

• Rehabilitation of the former P.S. 64 could take 4 to 6 years, cost over $100 million (Wednesday) 

• Soups on: The East Village Community Cookbook is ready for release next month (Thursday) 

• About 'Empty Beds,' a photo memorial that honors Ukrainian children abducted during the war (Wednesday)

• Bands we like: Genre is Death (Thursday) 

• Hello Mary headlines Bowery Ballroom (Tuesday) 

• Overthrow is closing next week on Bleecker Street; the one-time countercounter HQ is for sale (Wednesday) 

• This November at 3rd & B'zaar (Saturday) 

• D.A. Bragg announces indictment in L train stabbing (Thursday) 

• An East Village Halloween (Friday)

• Signage alert: Vintage Store on Houston (Thursday) 

• NYC's most Halloween-like sunset (Wednesday) 

• Trump sculpture draws attention on 2nd Street (and elsewhere) (Friday) 

• A look at 'That Paradise Place,' an erotic puppet musical about the lives of artists with disabilities (Thursday) 

• Kenny Scharf up next at the Brant Foundation (Tuesday ) 

• 2 recently opened restaurants close for renovations on 2nd Avenue (Monday)

• Coming attractions: Upperz Cafe and Bar on 14th Street (Tuesday) ... BKLYN MACS on 9th Street (Tuesday) 

• Signage alert: Hubani Restaurant on 1st Avenue (Tuesday) ... Fattoush by Salma on 1st Avenue (Monday) 

• The former Sushi Dojo space is for lease on 1st Avenue (Monday) 

This past week, DOT crews painted the new bikes on the recently repaved Second Avenue (to go with the new offset bus lane).

The bike lane appears to be the same size as the previous one... with a few exceptions where it widens in a few spots... to give passing riders more space...

'Caught' taking photos of Austin Butler's stand-in

Photos by Stacie Joy 

On Tuesday, crews for the Darren Aronofsky-helmed crime thriller "Caught Stealing" (aka "Chelsea Honeymoon") returned to the neighborhood to film at several locations, including at Quick Coin laundromat on Avenue B between Third Street and Fourth Street.

Here is lead actor Austin Butler in character on Oct. 2 on Sixth Street and Avenue A...

He was in the same outfit for the scenes this past week While Butler distracted the assembled paparazzi, we could focus more on his stand-in/lighting double, who was rockin' a similar slouchy yet dreamy orange-and-olive ensemble.

We spotted AB a little later entering the set...

Charlie Huston adapted the screenplay from his 2004 book "Caught Stealing." The story finds Hank Thompson (Butler), a former baseball prodigy, now a binge-drinking bartender, being chased by a criminal element in the East Village of 2000. 

The cast includes Zoë Kravitz, Regina King, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, Bad Bunny, Griffin Dunne, Vincent D’Onofrio and Action Bronson.

This November at 3rd & B'zaar

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Above from left: Maegan Hayward, Alex Carpenter & Nina Burns

During November, 3rd & B'zaar is hosting a vintage and pre-loved pop-up market on weekends curated by East Village resident Nina Burns (and here).

She'll be joined by the East Village Vintage Collective team, Maegan Hayward and Alex Carpenter, and several other indie merchants. The space, 191 E. Third St., between Avenue A and Avenue B, will also host classes, workshops, and special events. 

Hours: Saturday and Sunday from noon to 7 p.m. Keep an eye on social media for updates and special events. 

3rd & B'Zaar debuted in late 2020 with a month-long Holiday Market.

Saturday's opening shot

Fall on First Street this morning... and ICYMI: Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. local time Sunday. So set your clock back an hour before you go to bed or when you get home after 2 a.m.

'Headliner' news

 

Tuesday saw the release of a new Pretty Sick video... for "Headliner," off the Streetwise EP.

We were at the raucous Pretty Sick Halloween show last night at Bowery Ballroom. Pics on the way.

An East Village Halloween

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Families, friends, and ghouls of all ages were out yesterday — Halloween. 

Here are a few shots from around the neighborhood...

... and at the Show Brain-promoted concert in Tompkins Square Park during the afternoon...

Trump sculpture draws attention on 2nd Street (and elsewhere)

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

On Wednesday morning, we received a few reader messages along the lines of "There is a sculpture of former President Donald Trump having sex with an American-flag-clad woman in the back of a pick-up truck on Second Street." 

Not the usual queries that arrive in the inbox first thing in the morning.

Upon arriving on the scene, we discovered this work by UK-based artist Alison Jackson, who has long skewered celebrities, politicians, and royals in art and photography, blurring the line between fact and fiction. 

As Artsy noted in 2016: "... past works have pictured Obama having a cigarette, and Bill Clinton getting a nude massage as Hillary delivers a speech on TV. They're uncanny manifestations of stories and personas that are ever-present in the public imagination, visions of what may or may not occur among public figures behind closed doors." 

She planned to take the statue to Trump Tower on Wednesday for her latest piece (she has done Trump-related performance art in NYC in recent years). "It's a gift for Donald Trump," she told us. "It's quite a gift to leave for him, isn't it?"

According to her site, "she made the sexually charged sculpture to raise questions about how this powerful leader, ex-President Donald Trump, treats women and gets away with it." 

And why was this on Second Street between Avenue B and Avenue C?

Turns out the sculpture staging ground was outside 233 E. Second St., where Gio Tocco Productions was lending a hand. The address has storage space that Gio Tocco rents. 

The pick-up truck bearing the sculpture eventually left for a trip through Times Square and eventually a Trump Tower drive-by over the past two days ...

A copy of this hyper-realistic, life-sized sculpture is also currently on display at a gallery in London.

Thursday's parting shot

Another Hitchcocktober at Village East by Angelika is in the books (thanks to the EVG reader for the "Psycho" pic)...

7 posts from October

A mini month in review... with a photo on Avenue A by Stacie Joy showing a landlord collecting rent...

• Rehabilitation of the former P.S. 64 could take 4 to 6 years, cost over $100 million (Oct. 29) 

• Where is the $1 million NYPD mobile command unit that Mayor Adams promised for the troubled 14th Street and 1st Avenue corridor? (Oct. 28) 

• Office building on the former site of B Bar & Grill will be home to Chobani House — 'a new model for urban development' (Oct. 25) 

• Curtain falls on Connelly Theater: Archdiocese takes center stage in script scrutiny drama (Oct. 24) 

• Openings: Gizmo on 14th Street (Oct. 22) • Canines, crowds, cops and chaos: At the annual Tompkins Square Park Halloween Dog Parade (Oct. 21) 

• Baseball bats, fisticuffs and broken windows: A bonkers fight escalates as man drives car onto the sidewalk on 3rd Avenue (Oct. 10)